'Ted' Series Sets Viewership Record With Peacock Debut

The Big Picture

Ted, the prequel series starring Seth MacFarlane’s crude teddy bear, became the most-watched original title in the history of Peacock over its first three days.
The series likely benefited from the NFL’s Super Wild Card Weekend, which brought increased attention to the platform and boosted viewership for Ted.
While the future of the show is uncertain, MacFarlane and the co-showrunners are open to the possibility of a second season and exploring more stories with the teenage John and his unyielding friendship with Ted.

Absence apparently makes the heart grow fonder as Seth MacFarlane‘s rude, crude teddy bear Ted made his grand return to a viewership record on Peacock. The new prequel series, starring Max Burkholder as a young John Bennett with MacFarlane reprising his role as Ted, became the most-watched original title in the history of NBC’s streaming platform over its first three days following the release of all seven episodes on Thursday. No specific numbers were given, but the series was one draw during Peacock’s biggest single day in terms of engagement on Saturday.

Likely, Ted benefited heavily from hitting the platform just in time for the NFL’s Super Wild Card Weekend. In the run-up to the first-ever Peacock-exclusive playoff game between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs, sports business expert Joe Pompliano reported that the streamer shot to the top spot of the app store while seeing over double the search volume on Google than at any other point in the platform’s existence. The game itself became the most-streamed event in U.S. history with 23 million viewers across the app, NFL+, and local NBC stations. The inflated audience almost certainly brought more attention to Ted and John’s antics over the weekend.

That’s not to discredit Ted, however. MacFarlane’s comedy series revisited the beloved bear over eight and a half years after his last film, Ted 2, hit theaters, finally exploring John’s teenage years with his stuffed buddy by his side. Set in 1993, it picks up after Ted’s 15 minutes of fame has run out, sending him back home to live with his best friend John and his family. He’s far from a good influence on the 16-year-old, encouraging drug use and sex, but John’s parents hope that sending him to school will help him straighten out. Although this bear is just as crass as in MacFarlane’s 2012 movie, his friendship with John is unyielding even when the going gets tough for the pair.

Will ‘Ted’ Get a Second Season?

Peacock ordered Ted as an “event series,” meaning the likelihood of future seasons was always going to be low from the get-go. With record-breaking success on the platform, however, it’s possible MacFarlane and company will re-think that setup. Speaking to TheWrap, the Family Guy mastermind said future Ted projects depended on “audience appetite,” which certainly seems to be there by Peacock’s viewership. Co-showrunners Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh were already eager to explore what a future season or film could look like, with Walsh adding, “We’re certainly open to it. I think there’s a ton more stories to explore. I mean, we have this teenage, going into early 20s young man that is going through all these experiences and also has his family around him. We’ve told, what, seven stories so far? There’s plenty of room to explore and we’d love to explore it.”

If a Season 2 does happen, MacFarlane also told Collider’s Steve Weintraub that he would leave open the possibility for Mark Wahlberg to return, even in a limited capacity. “Anything is possible,” he added. “The challenge with Wahlberg is he’s very busy. He’s always working on a movie, or two or three, and to get him for a television series, even for something like Ted, the time commitment is oftentimes more than his schedule will permit.” Season 1 saw MacFarlane and Burkholder share the screen with Alanna Ubach, Scott Grimes, and Giorgia Whigham.

Ted is now streaming in its entirety on Peacock. Read our review here for our impressions of MacFarlane’s latest comedy series. Check out the trailer below.